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NFL Playoff Divisional Round First Thought Predictions, Lines

NFL Playoff Divisional Round early predictions, guessed lines, and quick thoughts on the four big upcoming games.

The first predictions, early lines, and quick analysis of the next batch of NFL Playoff Divisional round games.

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NFL Playoff Divisional Round First Thought Predictions
– New York at Philadelphia
– Cincinnati at Buffalo
– Dallas at San Francisco
– 2023 First Mock Draft: Post Wild Card

Well that was fun, but holy (bleep) does this next round of the NFL Playoffs look amazing

Even the blowouts – San Francisco over Seattle and Dallas over Tampa Bay – were entertaining in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs.

It would’ve been interesting to see what the Minnesota offense could’ve done at San Francisco, but getting Giants and Eagles with an NFC Championship appearance on the line is special. Dallas at San Francisco? For people of a certain age, that just sounds massive.

Bengals and Bills? This HAD to happen, and let’s go Jaguars – let’s see that attack against Kansas City (and help me with my belief that Jacksonville might be this year’s Cincinnati).

When our game previews come out – after the news of the week happens and there’s even more of a deep dive – these can and might change, but …

2023 NFL Playoffs Divisional Round: Saturday

Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs

Saturday, January 21
NBC, 4:30 ET
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO

First Thought Instant Analysis: We can’t have another No. 1 AFC seed go out right away, can we?

Kansas City is rested, it’s got the weapons that last year’s No. 1 AFC Tennessee didn’t have, and it should be able to take what Justin Herbert and the Chargers did against Jacksonville to another level.

But the Chief defense doesn’t really take the ball away.

That shouldn’t matter since Trevor Lawrence should be good for at least one big mistake on his own, but it really comes down to this …

How fast can Lawrence settle in?

He’s been so hyped and so amped and so off the last few games that he just needs to get off to a decent start and not try to do a gajillion things at once on each play. That, and he needs to read the Chief defense far, far, far better than he did early against the Chargers.

Lawrence will be good, the Jaguar offense will be great, and … Brandon Staley isn’t coaching the Chiefs.

It’ll be a back-and-forth fight with a ton of scoring and a whole lot of big plays, but this week the Jaguars aren’t going to be able to get over the big run from Patrick Mahomes and company coming in the second quarter.

First Thought No Research Prediction: Kansas City 34, Jacksonville 23
Early Line No-Look Guess: Kansas City -7.5
Actual Line: Kansas City -8.5, o/u: 51.5

NFL Playoff Divisional Round First Thought Predictions
– New York at Philadelphia
– Cincinnati at Buffalo
– Dallas at San Francisco

NEXT: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles Divisional Round

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NFL Playoff Divisional Round First Thought Predictions, Lines

NFL Playoff Divisional Round early predictions, guessed lines, and quick thoughts on the four big games.

The first predictions, early lines, and quick analysis of all the 2022 NFL playoff games.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

NFL Playoff Divisional Round First Thought Predictions
– San Francisco at Green Bay
– Buffalo at Kansas City
– Los Angeles or Arizona at Tampa Bay

Let’s just hope that all of that will bring us something wonderful.

Oh sure, Las Vegas made things interesting against Cincinnati at the end, and the world is still waiting for Dallas to finally wake up and start playing against San Francisco, but Tampa Bay over Philadelphia was a dud.

Kansas City over Pittsburgh turned into breathtaking dud. Buffalo over New England became a shocking dud.

Fortunately, here come the killer matchups that should be a whole lot more fun. So what’s going to happen?

As we do for the college side, we go with the first-guess picks and then work from there. Like they tell you in third grade, always go with your first answer.

I don’t look at the lines, guess at what they are, and then add them at the end.

Last year I totally rocked the Wild Card round – 6-0 straight up and 5-1 against the spread – but this time around? Uhhhhh, as the man said, it’s on to Cincinnati – or, Cincinnati vs Tennessee – going 3-2 both straight up and against the spread with the Rams-Arizona game pending.

When our game previews come out – after the news of the week happens and there’s even more of a deep dive happening – these can and might change, but …

2022 NFL Playoffs Divisional Round: Saturday

4 Cincinnati at 1 Tennessee

Saturday, January 22
CBS, 4:30 ET
Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN

Knee-Jerk Instant Analysis: Just how healthy is Derrick Henry?

That’s it. That’s everything.

D’Onta Foreman has done a nice job over the back half of the season for the Titans, and the defense has been terrific, but this comes down to whether or not the offense can control the tempo of the game and take the will away from the Cincinnati defense.

The Bengals were great against Las Vegas. Joe Burrow was sharp, Joe Mixon ran well, and the offense popped for over 300 yards in the 26-19 win.

However, there was a stretch in the second half when the Raider offensive line took over and Josh Jacobs was effective enough to change the overall energy of the game. That’s what Henry has to do, and if he can’t get rolling, then it’ll be Foreman.

Originally, the call was that New England was going to roll on into Nashville and grind its way to a win … oops. Cincinnati will get the offense going, but the rested Titans will come back in the second half with the ground game and fantastic run defense getting this done.

Knee-Jerk No Research Prediction: Tennessee 26, Cincinnati 20
Early Line No-Look Guess: Tennessee -3.5
Actual Line: Tennessee -3.5, o/u: 47

NFL Playoff Divisional Round First Thought Predictions
– San Francisco at Green Bay
– Buffalo at Kansas City
– Los Angeles or Arizona at Tampa Bay

NEXT: San Francisco at Green Bay Divisional Round

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NFL Playoff First Thought Predictions, Lines, Bracket, Super Bowl Pick

2022 NFL Playoff first predictions, early lines, and picks for every game through the bracket

The first predictions, early lines, and quick analysis on all of the 2022 NFL playoff games from the Wild Card through the Super Bowl.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

We’re here after a wild and fun regular season – and an all-timer of a finish – with the most wide open NFL playoffs in a long, long time.

Who’s going to win, how will the bracket go, and who’ll win the Super Bowl?

As we do for the college side, we go with the first-guess picks and then work from there. The idea is to go with the first answer, and then adjust from there once we do the game previews and predictions.

– 2022 NFL Draft First 16 Picks Mock Draft

2022 NFL Playoffs Wild Card Round: Saturday

AFC: 5 Las Vegas Raiders at 4 Cincinnati Bengals

Saturday, January 15
NBC/Peacock, 4:30 pm
Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH

Knee-Jerk Instant Analysis: Really? You’re going to go against this Las Vegas team that keeps on fighting through the adversity to play with the ultimate Raider swagger?

Yeah, and not just because Cincinnati rolled 32-13 when the two played in Week 11.

The Bengal star power got a week off to get everyone as right as can be, and Las Vegas had the emotional Sunday night game – that extra time will matter just enough. It won’t be the wipeout of earlier in the season, and the Bengals will press way too much, but Joe Burrow will get his first NFL playoff win.

Knee-Jerk No Research Prediction: Cincinnati 30, Las Vegas 23
Early Line No-Look Guess: Cincinnati -7.5
Actual Line: COMING, o/u: COMING

AFC: 6 New England Patriots at 3 Buffalo Bills

Saturday, January 15
CBS/Paramount+, 8:15 pm
Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, NY

Knee-Jerk Instant Analysis: It stinks that these two are playing in the Wild Card round. Either one could go on a run and either one would do some damage if they didn’t have to play each other.

Can New England get everything back up to speed? They’ve now lost three of their last four game after the problems against Miami, and before that was the crazy weather game against Buffalo.

You never want to go against Bill Belichick – especially since this is the third time they’ve played in seven weeks – but at home, in front of that crowd, the Buffalo team that’s past the midseason doldrums will rise up against the run. The Patriot defense, placekicking, and coaching will be better.

Knee-Jerk No Research Prediction: New England 19, Buffalo 17
Early Line No-Look Guess: Buffalo -3.5
Actual Line: COMING, o/u: COMING

NFL Playoff First Thought Predictions
– Wild Card: Saturday | Wild Card: Sunday
– Divisional Round: NFC | AFC
– Conference Championships
– Super Bowl Prediction

NEXT: 2022 NFL Playoffs Wild Card Round: Sunday, Monday

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NFL Playoff Conference Championship First Thought Predictions, Lines

The first predictions, early lines, and quick analysis of all the 2021 NFL playoff games – the conference championship version.

The first predictions, early lines, and quick analysis of all the 2021 NFL playoff games – conference championship version.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

It makes sense that the best quarterbacks and the best teams are in conference championships, but assuming – and really, really hoping – Patrick Mahomes is okay and ready to roll for the AFC Championship, the star power coming up on Sunday is as good as it gets.

This isn’t Tom Brady vs. a Drew Brees who’s on his last ride before hitting the TV booth. This is Tom Brady vs. soon-to-be-MVP Aaron Rodgers in what’s expected to be the snow and cold of Green Bay.

It’s Mahomes – again, fingers crossed – vs. Josh Allen in a battle of superstars who’ll be a big part of our NFL lives for the next decade.

Throw in the fun of a Buffalo Mafia fan base that’s losing its mind, the defending Super Bowl champs, Rodgers in his first home NFC Championship game, and Tom freaking Brady being a game away from another Super Bowl appearance, and …

Yeah. The NFL Playoffs are awesome.

As always, without doing any research or giving it a whole lot of deep-dive thought, we give our knee-jerk, always-go-with-your-first-answer thoughts and predictions along with a first guess line on each game. Then we go back and add the actual lines.

When our game previews come out – after the news of the week happens and we make the call for real – these can and might change, but …

NFL Playoff Conference Championship First Thought Predictions
– Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers
– Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs

NEXT: 2021 NFL Playoffs NFC Championship: Tampa Bay vs. Green Bay

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NFL Playoff Divisional Round First Thought Predictions, Lines

The first predictions, early lines, and quick analysis of all the 2021 NFL playoff games.

The first predictions, early lines, and quick analysis of all the 2021 NFL playoff games.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

NFL Playoff Divisional Round First Thought Predictions
– Baltimore at Buffalo
– Cleveland at Kansas City
– Tampa Bay at New Orleans

Well that was a whole big big of fantastic.

The massive expanded NFL Wild Card weekend was outstanding from beginning to end. Even when there was a bit of a dud – (cough) Chicago New Orleans (cough) – it was still relatively entertaining in the glut of all those games that matter.

And now we get even more fun.

Two games Saturday, two games Sunday, and they’re going to be loaded.

Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen headline Saturday night when Baltimore goes to Buffalo, and we get Round 3 of Brady vs. Brees when Tampa Bay goes to New Orleans to end Sunday night.

Oh yeah, and the Rams going to Green Bay on Saturday and Cleveland taking its show to Kansas City on Sunday isn’t bad either.

So what’s going to happen?

As we do this for the college side, we go with the first-guess picks and then work from there. Like they tell you in third grade, always go with your first answer. I don’t look at the lines, guess at what they are, and then add them at the end.

By the way … went 6-0 straight up and 5-1 against the spread when doing this for the Wild Card round.

However, when our game previews come out – after the news of the week happens and there’s even more of a deep dive happening – these can and might change, but …

2021 NFL Playoffs Divisional Round: Saturday

6 Los Angeles Rams at 1 Green Bay Packers

Saturday, January 16
FOX, 4:35 ET
Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI

Knee-Jerk Instant Analysis: The Rams were able to pull it off against a Seattle team that – for some bizarre reason – thought the answer to not being able to hit third down plays was to keep chucking it deep. Green Bay will be sharper all the way around.

That LA D – No. 1 in the NFL – is obviously amazing, but Aaron Donald is banged up, and as good as that performance against the Seahawks was, that’s not going to be enough to overcome a still-injured Jared Goff.

Green Bay doesn’t turn the ball over enough to matter here, but there’s a bigger problem … Green Bay.

It’s still almost a week away, but it’s expected to be around 20ish degrees at game time.

Knee-Jerk No Research Prediction: Green Bay 26, Los Angeles 16
Early Line No-Look Guess: Green Bay -7.5
Actual BetMGM Line: Green Bay -7, o/u: 46

NFL Playoff Divisional Round First Thought Predictions
– Baltimore at Buffalo
– Cleveland at Kansas City
– Tampa Bay at New Orleans

NEXT: Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills

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NFL Playoff First Thought Predictions, Lines, Bracket, Super Bowl Pick

The first predictions, early lines, and quick analysis on all of the 2021 NFL playoff games.

The first predictions, early lines, and quick analysis on all of the 2021 NFL playoff games.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

The NFL has made its way through, it expanded to include everyone who can throw a football and chew gum at the same time, and now comes the payoff with one-and-done games that ramp the intensity up a few levels.

Who’s going to win, how will the bracket go, and who’ll win the Super Bowl?

2021 NFL Playoffs Wild Card Round: Saturday

7 Indianapolis Colts at 2 Buffalo Bills

Saturday, January 9
CBS, 1:05 pm
Bills Stadium, Orchard Park, NY

Knee-Jerk Instant Analysis: The Colt lines are just good enough be a bother throughout. The great offensive front should be able to pound through the Bill defensive front, and on the other side, now the pressure is on. Josh Allen and the Bills are supposed to win. They’re supposed to keep this fun going. And they will, but it’ll be a bit of a grind until the Colt offense stalls in the fourth quarter and Buffalo finally pulls away.

Knee-Jerk No Research Prediction: Buffalo 30, Indianapolis 20
Early Line No-Look Guess: Buffalo -6.5
Actual BetMGM Line: Buffalo -6.5, o/u: 52.5

6 Los Angeles Rams at 3 Seattle Seahawks

Saturday, January 9
FOX, 4:40 pm
Lumen Field, Seattle, WA

Knee-Jerk Instant Analysis: Is Jared Goff able to go? How healthy is the rest of the Ram offense? It won’t matter – the defense will pick up the slack. This is a flaky LA team that could just as easily get blown out from jump as it could roll through with a stunning run. Seattle’s defense that’s had so many issues this year will get exposed further.

Knee-Jerk No Research Prediction: Los Angeles Rams 26, Seattle 23
Early Line No Look Guess: Seattle -4.5
Actual BetMGM Line: Seattle -4.5, o/u: 42

5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 4 Washington Football Team

Saturday, January 9
NBC, 8:15 pm
FedEx Field, Landover, MD

Knee-Jerk Instant Analysis: BE … CAREFUL. Everyone will mock, ridicule, and laugh at a 7-9 team being in the playoffs, but this defense is the real deal. Weather will matter a bit for the guys from Tampa, but the bigger problem will be Chase Young and a pass rush that will disrupt Tom Brady – the first time in weeks anyone will do that – and make this a fight. However, the Football Team offense will stall and make just enough mistakes to not pull this off, but the Buccaneers will get pushed.

Knee-Jerk No Research Prediction: Tampa Bay 23, Washington 16
Early Line No Look Guess: Tampa Bay -6.5
Actual BetMGM Line: Tampa Bay -7.5, o/u: 46.5

NFL Playoff First Thought Predictions
– Wild Card: Sunday
– Divisional Round: NFC
– Divisional Round: AFC
– Conference Championships, Super Bowl

NEXT: 2021 NFL Playoffs Wild Card Round: Sunday

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